Safety ski binding



May 28, 1963 H. WUNDER SAFETY SKI BINDING Filed Oct. 10, 1960lllllllllll llllllllllllll'lll INVENTOR H [MIR/(H M/NMR United StatesPatent 3,091,475 SAFETY SKI BINDING Heinrich Wunder, Rothschwaige, nearDachau, Germany Filed Oct. 10, 1960, Ser. No. 61,660 Claims priority,application Germany Nov. 17, 1959 9 Claims. (Cl. 280-1135) The presentinvention relates to a safety ski binding, and more particularly to aski binding in which the gripping jaw for holding the toe portion of thesole of a ski boot is pivoted laterally when an excessive lateral forceis applied by the toe portion of the sole of the ski boot.

Conventional ski bindings with laterally pivota-ble toe gripping jawshave the disadvantages of necessitating sudden passage of a dead centerposition during the pivoting movement and of wedging or clamping thefront part of the sole at one side before it will be released. Each ofthese effects may prevent the proper release of the boot at the momentof danger and even render such a ski binding unsafe because the purposeof the pivotable gripping jaws, i.e. the prevention of bone fractures isnot attained.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety ski bindingwith laterally pivotable toe gripping jaws which avoids theabove-mentioned disadvantages.

The inventive novelty of the new ski binding consists principally inproviding the metallic, pivotable toe gripping jaw of each ski bindingwith an elastic supporting element which is adapted to be compressedwithin a horizontal plane. This elastic supporting element may be madeof rubber or a suitable plastic. The inventive eifect may, however, alsobe attained by the provision of several springs which are mounted on thetoe gripping jaw and are active in the direction in which the pressureis exerted on the jaw. The elastic supporting element is covered at theside facing the boot sole by a cover plate which directly engages withthe sole and transmits the pressure during the releasing operation tothe elastic element and compresses and deforms the same in the lateraldirection. Thus, when the gripping jaw is pivoted toward one side or theother, the elastic element will yield in the same direction and no deadcenter position is passed suddenly and the movement does not excessivelyaffect the leg and ankle. Furthermore, any impacts which might beexerted from the front upon the boot will be elastically neutralized.The present invention has the further advantage that at minor torsionalactions the supporting element will yield elastically without effectinga release of the ski binding. The elastic supporting element thusoperates as a cushion, protects the foot, and avoids accidents.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become further apparent from the following detaileddescription thereof, particularly when the same is read with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1 is a side view, partlyin section, of a toe gripping jaw according to the invention mounted ona ski;

FIGURE 2 is a part sectional plan view of the device shown in FIGURE 1,the section being made along line I=III of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the toe gripping jaw; while FIGURE 4 is ahorizontal sectional view of a modified toe-gripping jaw.

As illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 3 of the drawings, the metallictoe-gripping jaw 1 of a ski binding is mounted on a base plate 9 and ispivotable within a horizontal plane about a fulcrum 6. The sole 14 of aski boot, part-1y indicated in dot-and-dash lines in FIGURE 1, is

ice

pressed in the usual manner against jaw 1 by means of a tension cable 13which surrounds the heel of the boot and is tightened at the front partof the binding by a tightening member, not shown. 'Sole 14 is alsosupported in the usual manner on a cover plate 10 which is secured tothe ski.

The releasing force may be adjusted in a known manner by means of asetscrew 7 which acts upon a spring 12 so as to press a locking ball 11downwardly into a spherical recess in base plate '9. According to thepresent invention, a supporting element 2 which, in the illustratedexample of the invention, is in the shape of a block consisting of anelastic material, for example rubber, is secured to jaw 1 by vulcanizingor cementing. This supporting element 2 is designed so as to have anelasticity which affords only a slight yielding to the normal pressuresoccurring during skiing, and which permits lateral deformation whensubjected to greater pressures, as occur during the releasing operationwhen the toe gripping element is pivoted in a horizontal plane. There isa clearance between the bottom surface of the body 2 and the top of theski to afford free rocking of the jaw.

The elastic supporting element 2 is covered by a soleoverlapping plate4. The side of the element 2 facing the toe part of the sole is providedwith a plate 3 made of a rigid material and having pointed projectionswhich are adapted to be pressed into the sole. As indicated in FIGURE 3,plate 4 is provided with a horizontally extending recess having a bottomedge 8- and adapted to receive an upwardly projecting curved part 5 ofplate 3 which is guided by and engages the edge 8 when the elasticsupporting element 2 is strongly compressed. Edge 8 therefore limits theextent of compression of supporting element 2 and permits the projectingpart 5 to roll or pivot along edge 8. The aforesaid recess and theprojecting part 5 of plate 3 may, however, be omitted since they are notabsolutely essential to attain the object of the invention.

In the modification of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 4 the elasticsupporting element is in the shape of a block divided vertically in thelongitudinal center plane of the binding to form two adjacent parts 2aand 2b. This has the advantage that the ski boot is released with lesseffort from the supporting jaw since each of the elastic parts 2a and 2bcan yield independently from the other in the lateral direction. In thiscase the supporting plate 3 is also vertically split into two parts 3aand 35. It is within the scope of the invention to divide only thesupporting plate 3 into two parts 3a and 3b and to provide the rubberbody 2 in one piece.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with referenceto preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that itis in no way limited to the details of such embodiments, but is capableof numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims andmay also be applied to gripping jaws different from those illustrated inthe drawings.

Having thus fully disclosed by invention, what I claim 1. In a safetyski binding having a gripping jaw for engaging the forward end of thesole of a ski boot and mounted for pivoting about a vertical axis, anelastic element mounted on'said jaw and constructed and arranged so asto be compressed by the sole of the ski boot substantially exclusivelyin a horizontal plane, said elastic element having a top surface and aside facing the forward end of the sole of the ski boot, said grippingjaw having a horizontal extension covering said top surface andoverlapping the projecting edge of the sole of the ski boot, a recess insaid extension, and a vertical cover plate secured to said elasticelement at the side facing the sole of 2. In a safety ski bindingaccording to clairn 1 and wherein said recess has an inner edgeextending substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the skibinding,

said upward projection being arcuated about a vertical axis and adaptedto engage and roll along said inner edge upon one-sided compression ofsaid elastic element.

3. A safety ski binding for releasably connecting a ski boot to a ski,comprising v a metallic gripping jaw mounted for pivoting about avertical axis and having a portionengaging the forward end of thesole ofthe ski boot, and an elastic body of substantial extension longitudinalof the binding mounted on said jaw and having a vertical surface facingthe forward end of the sole of the ski boot; said body being large inrelation to the size of said metallic gripping jaw andfyieldable in allhorizontal directions and affording substantial one-sided elasticdeformation and substantial yielding to one-sided pressure and initialrocking of the ski boot prior torocking'of said gripping jaw about saidvertical axis upon excessive movement of the ski boot out of alignmentwith the ski.

4,. A safety ski binding as defined in claim 3, wherein said body has ahorizontal bottom surface facing the top surface of the ski and beingspaced therefrom to afford free rocking of the jaw. i

5. A safety ski binding as defined in claim 3, wherein saidbody isdivided verticallyand parallel to the longij tudinal. axis of thebindingtinto two separate parts.

6. A safety ski binding as defined in claim 3 and wherein saidelastiebody is compressible in all directions and is in the shape of a blockdivide'din the longitudinal,

41 vertical cent-er plane of the binding into two separate parts,

each of said parts having a vertical surface facing the forward end ofthe sole of the ski boot, and a rigid vertical cover plate is made faston each of said vertical surfaces. 7. A safety ski bindingv as definedin claim 3 including a rigid vertical cover plate made fast on saidvertical surface of said elastic body for engaging the forward end ofthe sole of a ski boot.

8. A safety ski binding as defined in claim 7 and where- -in said coverplate is vertically divided intortwo laterally adjacent. separate parts,

. 9 A safety ski binding as definedin claim 7 wherein the side of saidvertical' cover; plate facingthe ski boot isjjprqvided with sharpvertical edges for firmly engaging the forward end'of the sole of theski boot for preventing lateral slipping of the forward end of the soleof the ski boot relative to said cover plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER.REFERENCES German application 1,030,742, K177b 15-, May 22, 195 8;: i ll i

3. A SAFETY SKI BINDING FOR RELEASABLY CONNECTING A SKI BOOT TO A SKI,COMPRISING: A METALLIC GRIPPING JAW MOUNTED FOR PIVOTING ABOUT AVERTICAL AXIS AND HAVING A PORTION ENGAGING THE FORWARD END OF THE SOLEOF THE SKI BOOT, AND AN ELASTIC BODY OF SUBSTANTIAL EXTENSIONLONGITUDINAL OF THE BINDING MOUNTED ON SAID JAW AND HAVING A VERTICALSURFACE FACING THE FORWARD END OF THE SOLE OF THE SKI BOOT, SAID BODYBEING LARGE IN RELATION TO THE SIZE OF SAID METALLIC GRIPPING JAW ANDYEILDABLE IN ALL HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONS AND AFFORDING SUBSTANTIALLYONE-SIDED ELASTIC DEFORMATION AND SUBSTANTIAL YEILDING TO ONE-SIDEDPRESSURE AND INITIAL ROCKING OF THE SKI BOOT PRIOR TO ROCKING OF SAIDGRIPPING JAW ABOUT SAID VERTICAL AXIS UPON EXCESSIVE MOVEMENT OF THE SKIBOOT OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH THE SKI.